MeHeartCruising

As you've probably guessed by now, posts about travel booking agencies are not permitted according to CruiseCritic's rules. At least you can't mention them by name.

I enjoyed the departure from Amsterdam out to the locks quite a lot. It was interesting landscape/buildings to see and there were lots of boats to watch come and go around you. Also some windmills. And then the approach to the locks was fun to see thru the entire process. I stayed up top and went from side to side to front throughout the journey. Enjoy your cruise!

There usually aren't any checkin delays at Civitavecchia. And don't worry about what time you specify during your online checkin. No one checks. I would pick your departure based upon when you want to leave Rome. You have time to do something that morning in Rome, if you want. I would not arrive at the port before 10:30 or so, simply because they will still be wrapping up the disembarkation process and switching over to check-ins. With no Rome plans, I'd target 11-11:30 arrival at port.

I did a day trip to Delft and back and enjoyed it quite a bit. A great little town to walk around and explore.

While I also don't like t book ship excursions (unless it really, really makes sense for some reason), I still regard them as a valuable assistance in helping me determine what I might like to do in each port. I think the majority of first time visitors to most stops in Europe would do very similar things to what the excursions offer. I do additional research as well, but that usually leads back to doing the same things the excursions offer. So my advice is to review the excursions and itemize, from them, what you might like to see and do while in port. Then separately, research how you can accomplish those things either doing on your own or hiring someone local to help you. That's at least a starting point.

Yes, but you might think No.

My May 2023 experience on the Royal Caribbean version of the tour: If you are able to walk on gravel and/or stone pathways, most of which are quite flat, and a few that are slightly on a gradual slope, you will be fine. You do quite a bit of walking on the island. But probably not more than 1/2 to 3/4 of a mile, I suppose. There were frequent stops as the guide paused to discuss something. There is a "mountain" on the island that has a stepped pathway to the top. People are permitted to walk up there. But in the timeframe of the excursion that I was on, that was not possible. We were told about the significance of the mountain top as part of our guide. But it was only pointed to. Unless your tour is different and includes the mountain trek, I don't think you'll have any problem. I'm an overweight, out-of-shape, non-athletic tourist and I had no problems whatsoever. When I was there in May, the indoor museum was closed for renovation work, so it was an all outside time on the island. There is little shade (didn't need it in May). There is a restroom near the boat dock where you start/end the visit. There was a bottled water machine nearby. You may want to view a few videos on YouTube. They show a pretty good idea of what to expect.

I applied both a CruiseFirst and a CruiseNext certificate to a cruise about one year ago. Yes, the website let me do that. A few weeks later, I received an email from a person at NCL telling me that this was no permitted and that they have removed one of them from my cruise and returned it to my Account. I don't recall which one they returned.

You won't know until you either try it or not. No one here can, with certainty, tell you what is going to happen.

Most of the major sites themselves are immensely walkable to each other. They are in the Sultanahmet area of the city. I did not use a guide, as I had done my research prior to my trip. However, you will likely want some form of transportation to go from your ship to the Sultanahmet area. There is a tram that runs from outside the cruise port to the tourist area. You should read up on that option. It can be walked. I did the walk from Sultanahamet back to the ship when I was there, but it is a lengthly walk that I would not recommend starting your day with. I would estimate I walked for 45-60 minutes - including an occasional stop for pictures. Once you see the lay of the land, you could possibly decide to walk back later in the day or on the second day. I think most people do not walk it.

As a fellow 6'4" traveler, I would never let anyone control my air travel. I pay more, but I book seats that are as comfortable as I can get. I don't fly basic economy any more. At all. Even on domestic flights.

My interpretation of the OPs post is that they will now NOT be visiting the Orkney or Shetland Islands at all. Instead those stops have been replaced with an ADDITIONAL half day in Edinburgh (which probably means they now have 1.5 days in Edinburgh) and 1/2 day in Scrabster.

I would also suggest taking the train from Rotterdam to Paris. You will then be in the city center of Paris to get to a hotel and then sightsee all day/night. Then the next day go to the airport for your flight home. I see hourly trains (with no change of trains) from Rotterdam Central Station to Paris Gare du Nord that takes just over 2.5 hours. Much less hassle than dealing with 2 airports.

Since I posted above, and after I viewed the entire video, I now recall that the path back down at the end of the tour is a series of many steps downward (as shown at the end of the video) and not an asphalt path. Also, I seem to recall that our Ephesus tour guide actually turned our group over to a different guide who was already inside the Terrace Houses for that portion of the tour. Then we rejoined our regular guide at the bottom of the hill after viewing the houses. I could be wrong on that. But I'm pretty sure we weren't just turned loose inside. Someone what explaining things to us some.

When I went, I was with a guide who walked thru the Terrace House with us. There was no dropping off. I do not know what you have arranged with your guide. We entered the houses at the lowest level (ground level for the rest of Ephesus) and as you explore the houses, you gradually climb up sets of steps. The steps are generally 5-10 steps or so at a time. Then a viewing area. A walkway. Then more steps. At the top of the terrace, we exited the building and walked back downhill on an asphalt pathway to a location at "ground level", not far from where we entered the building to begin the tour. You can view videos on YouTube of what the experience is like. You can see the steps in the videos. This one shows good examples of the steps and walks. There are plenty of places to linger and rest up for the next set of steps, if needed and if there isn't someone forcing you into some continued movement. NOTE: This post may be moved by the moderators to the Other Mediterranean Ports forum. Ephesus is in Turkey, not Greece.

For port of call visits, it will never be 2 hours prior. There is a VERY old phrase posted on NCL's website that indicates you need to be on board 2 hours prior. But that is a badly worded paragraph that refers to when you need to arrive for checkin at the embarkation port -- at least 2 hours prior to departure. But for normal port visits it is usually 30 minutes before disembarking. But as stated above, be certain to check with your daily newsletter for exact times. There will also be a sign at the gangway as you're leaving (and people you can ask to confirm). I always allow at least one hour.

I would not do this either. Your bag will be tossed sideways on to a cart with 30 other suitcases on top of it so they can be put on to the ship. Any suitcase with its handle extended would be just asking to be broken. And your second bag would not necessarily be kept with the first bag. I doubt the porter that you hand your luggage off to would even accept if from you with the handle up and a second bag stacked on the handle. You need 2 luggage tags. Or carry on the smaller bag.

Your cruise line needs to be the one to tell you what time you comfortably need to be at the port. It varies from sailing to sailing. What is the departure time shown in your cruise paperwork? The cruise line probably also has a guideline for how many hours prior to sailing that you need to check in. Get those numbers and give them to RomeCabs and they can tell you when they need to leave Rome to get you there in time.

What is your definition of "visit the Vatican"? You can enter St. Peter's Cathedral without a ticket. Entry is free. However, you need to wait in line to pass thru security. If you are wanting to visit the Vatican Museums, this is the official site. You can purchase timed entry tickets on the site. https://m.museivaticani.va/ You would have time to visit the Vatican in the morning prior to heading to Civitavecchia to catch your ship. But you will need to have a plan for getting to the port that allows for the visit. It will also depend on what time your cruise line has told you that you need to be checked in by.

Did you really see any overall price difference on that promo? Usually, if the promo reduces the price of the second passenger, they simply raise the price an equal amount for the first person or for the cruise as a whole. It seems they used to have promos that went back and forth that way. But the bottom $ was always pretty much exactly the same.

I generally find the best price point for flights to Europe at about the 9-months out point. But you truly never know for sure.

I also think you misread the reaction. IF I tip extra, I usually go with $20 total. You did not undertip. He was probably confused as to what that much money was for.

While it doesn't always happen, NCL has always had this situation for some cruises. People get used to thinking the Sail Away rate is the definition of a guarantee cabin. And that all other rates permit cabin selection by the buyer. That is not the case. Sail Away rates means they do not include the Free At See perks AND they do not permit cabin selection -- they are a guarantee category. However, Guarantee categories still exist in other cases. Such as you are seeing. You can indeed SOMETIMES buy a Guarantee category with the Free At See perks. They are not always available.

While probably feasible to do the Venice timing, I would much prefer to add the extra day and enjoy some time in Bologna. It would be a much more pleasant way to wind down a vacation than stressing about making it to Venice in time. And Venice Airport can be a stressful airport to deal with.

You're welcome. I will add, that I suggest you visit the customer service desk during your first cruise (first few days), and make sure they have you on their list as a B2B passenger. They probably do. But it never hurts to make sure. This is how they know to deliver the instruction letter to you a couple days before turnaround day. Enjoy your cruises! It's a great area to explore.